Another Birthday, and Some Fun Stuff
Today is Mike Cozart's birthday, and you already know that Sue B. has found the perfect vintage photo for the occasion. What are the odds of another person named "Mike"?? I wonder if that Mike's birthday was close to Christmas? Those "holly sprigs" in the corner seem specific. I like the bisque Jack-in-the-box candle holder, it keeps all that wax off of the cake.
Continuing the birthday celebration, Sue also sent along some photos of Jerome, Arizona - apparently a favorite place of Mike's. My theory: the Jerome McDonald's gives you drinks with just the right amount of ice - not too much, not too little. Of course there might be other reasons Mike likes Jerome AZ too. It's hot, but it's a dry heat!
I can't tell if that building is a factory (it has those tall smokestacks) or a weird home. Either way I want to live there.
I wish I had some knowledge about Jerome AZ so that I could impart some wisdom, but hopefully Mike can chime in, if these tickle his brain cells.
It looks like the town gets tourist on good days. Look at those "classic" cars, is that a Ford Pinto? In front of it, some boxy little number that I'm sure somebody will be able to ID.
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Continuing a long GDB tradition of me screwing up, I forgot to wish Junior Gorilla Zach a very Happy Birthday. Luckily, I had this vintage photo ready to go. That two year-old kid is about to eat that entire cake in one gulp, he can distend his jaw like a python. It's really too bad that the photo doesn't show that phenomenon.
25 comments:
Mike-
Happy Birthday, Mike-! Thanks for ALL you contribute to these pages. I've learned SO much great stuff; I can't wait to hear more.
Major-
Yes, that's a Ford Pinto. And in front of it is a Volkswagen Rabbit.
Thanks to Sue and The Major.
Happy Birthday, Mike -- and Zach!
Yay, I got one! I knew that car (the Volkswagen Rabbit) before reading Nanook's comment! :-)
Mike, I hope you have a dent-astic birthday!
And a very smudge-riffic birthday, to Zach!!!
Thank you Lou, Sue, and Major!
AND Zach-! So many birthdays-!!
Today's Quiz Question:
What does that last photo have in common with DL's ROA?
♫Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday Mike Cozart... and Zaaaach,
Happy birthday to you!♫
Now blow out the candle... and be careful not to spit on the cake. Nobody likes cakespit.
Sue is getting pretty good at this. Now the cakes are personalized! Thanks, Sue.
This cake is home decorated but it was done fairly well. Not everybody has icing tips to make leafs. (I do, but I'm weird that way.) And are those three birds at the top of the cake? Now I'm confused: Holly, birds, and birthday; what connects these things? I think the bisque figure is a clown-in-a-box. Maybe the clown is made of biscuit, not bisque?
Looks like Jerome is just a few feet short of being a mile-high town. Interesting that they don't give a population figure on the sign... maybe nobody lives here anymore?
I can't make sense of that factory/weird home. It doesn't appear to have a roof. And it looks half-built. And what are all those wires/lines criss-crossing the photo? There seems to be a powerline insulator on the right edge of the pic; are we at the top of a power pole?
Besides the "Cathedral" sign up there on that church(?) (I like how the lettering gets smaller and more cramped toward the right), the other sign says "Holy Family [something]" Church? Cathedral?
That last pic looks a lot like Rainbow Ridge! With houses up on the hillside. I'm looking to see if there is a train of pack mules going by up there! Funny place to put a rustic swing set; at the "Chamber of Commerce". Maybe this doubled as the city park.
Tokyo!, dents and smudges are soooo yesterday! ;-p
"What does that last photo have in common with DL's ROA?"... Exploding Animatronic Ducks?
Many thanks to Sue and Major for today's post.
^ Of course, I meant Animatronic Exploding Ducks; AEDs, not EADs. Dang, another thing that's going on my permanent record.
Sue, is it that they have both been bulldozed by ruthless money-grubbing monsters?
.......they both had a recreation of the Millennium Falcon built on top of them?
Thank you all!! And likewise to Zach. And today is Disneyland’s PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN’s 58th birthday!
I’ve been to Jerome ghost town . But it’s not much of a ghost town now I understand as it became a pretty big artist colony starting in the 70’s to today . Disney imagineers obtain main mining artifacts for Disneyland & WDW’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attractions from Jerome’s surrounding small “venture” mines .
Major that building started out as a resort hotel then became a miners hospital. Jerome has another population sign that is very famous that has continuous population revisions until there was only 38 residents .. the sign stood into the 80’s and was the inspiration for WED imagineer Pat Burke to create a version for the Town of BIG THUNDER at Disneyland ( since redone to read Rainbow Ridge again).
JEROME’s biggest mine was owned by the parents of Winston Churchhill’s mother ( his mother was American) Jerome was once a large thriving mining city and had the largest JC Penny’s west of the Mississippi. The town is built on a mountain and after an explosion way underground , all the town’s buildings began the great “slide” And slowly the businesses and homes began to slide down the mountain .. soon bridges and elaborate stairways had to be constructed to access the structures till finally the citizens began to abandoned JEROME.
Happy Birthday Mike!
Jerome is a relatively short jaunt from Sedona. We were visiting my in-laws there a couple years ago and decided to head up the tortuous road to Jerome and visit the Grand Hotel. Never got to it (there was a semi blocking the road up) but unlocked a new fear of narrow roads and sharp turns. It's a neat little town high up in the hills, and has some unique history from copper mining to indigenous stories.
Happy Birthday Mike and Zach! Any photo of a Harvest Gold appliance is as heartwarming as seeing a vintage photo of the Disneyland parking lot! Hope that kid didn't fall into the cake. The first cake is rather horror movie worthy....like the jack in the box becomes alive or something....I love Holly, even though it really hurts when you try to trim it, or use it in decorations. Wear gloves. Jerome is a National Historic Landmark and has an interesting and storied past as a mine town. It looks like tourism saved them after the mines closed, and as it's only 100 miles from Phoenix: it could be a day trip. The wiki world has many stories and photos. A interesting place for sure with the famous "sliding jail". Thanks to Major, Sue and the Birthday Boys!
Happy BirthuthithuHappiDay, (as Owl might say to Eeyore) Mike and Zach! Many Happy Returns!
Sue, the birthday expert, thank you! That is quite a cake indeed, the little bisque thing reminds me of little ornaments my Mom used to have, now on my daughter’s mantlepiece. Notice the Peter Max design on the paper plates. Washing Machine Kid must be a Spring baby, daffodils and some little purple flower bedecks his table. Love those drapes.
I’ve been to Jerome several times, and as Tom says, it’s a terrifying drive to approach from the North. The little valley out there is very pleasant with numerous Indian town sites to explore and at least one winery (!). It’s a cute spot and worth a visit, it can be a stop on your return day trip from Phoenix to Sedona. Thank you for these pictures!
JG
Happy Birthday Mike and Zach!
In the early 1980s, John Olson (also an Imagineer at the time, I believe), published a series of articles about building a western-themed model railroad called the Jerome & Southwestern RR in Model Railroader Magazine, loosely based on Jerome, AZ. It was subsequently turned into a book.
@ Bu-
"Any photo of a Harvest Gold appliance is as heartwarming as seeing a vintage photo of the Disneyland parking lot!"
I will say that yellow does resemble Harvest Gold, but I doubt it. That General Electric washing machine [with a "controller" more-resembling the 'Sheer Look' line of appliances from Frigidaire (1957)] would have to be Canary Yellow -as that was GE's 'yellow' color from the 1950's and 60's. I doubt this image is from the 70's, as the design of that appliance is clearly older than that - but one never knows.
Thanks for the birthday wishes all. And Happy Birthday to Mike.
I'm of an age where, when we explored a 'ghost town' as a kid there were still artifacts in the buildings, giving them a true ghost town feel. Never been to Jerome, tho.
Went to DL eight years ago on my birthday and was surprised that I was celebrating with POTC on it's 50th! Such an iconic attraction.
Thanks again, all.
Zach
Zach, Mike C. Big Birthday wishes for you both.
MS
Nanook, if only Mike could somehow teach his disco moves on GDB!
Lou and Sue, as always, thanks for your help.
TokyoMagic!, I miss the days when cars had names like Rabbit, Roadrunner, Cougar, etc.
Nanook, are you hinting at a government conspiracy?? Because I believe all of those!
Lou and Sue, I can’t wait for the answer!
JB, hey did you write that song just now? It’s fantastic! I remember going to a birthday party when I was a kid, and I saw the kid spit on the cake when he blew out the candles. “Why aren’t you eating your cake?”, the mother asked later. I don’t have a birthday, so there will be no personalized cakes for me. I guess those are birds on the cake, but they are bad birds. Maybe holly was just a decoration that the mom was able to do with her piping bag. I was fascinated by ghost towns when I was a kid, not that Jerome is a ghost town, but I would have appreciated its “Old West” history. They should have one of those population signs that can change when an outlaw plugs somebody, like in a cartoon. Yes, we are at the top of a power pole, all great photos are taken at the top of power poles. Name one that isn’t! I guess that last photo does look a little like Rainbow Ridge, but not nearly as adorable, and without as many fun sound effects (snoring, tooth-pulling, etc). I do think I see a duck looking out of one of those upper windows, but can’t tell if he is explosive.
JB, I’ve also reported you to the American Dental Association and the National Football League. They all have their eyes on you!
TokyoMagic!, that would have been my guess, except that she said “Disneyland”, their river hasn’t been bulldozed. YET.
TokyoMagic!, I hope that, someday, the Millennium Falcon will be seen in every Disneyland attraction.
Mike Cozart, oh wow, I did not know that it was the 58th birthday for POC. I’m sure Facebook will remind me when I look at it tonight. If Jerome became an artist colony, you can almost guarantee that artists can’t afford to live there anymore. They made the place cute and fun, and then rich people moved in and priced them out. Happens all the time! I remember when I was in school, some of my art teachers had lofts in downtown LA. because they were cheap. Those were the days. I forgot to mention that Jerome was the main source of raw Retsin, the secret ingredient in Certs mints. Today it is a scarce commodity. It is interesting to see towns (mostly in the American West) that really were boom towns, they sprang up thanks to precious metals, and once those were used up, everybody left. It must have really seemed like being in a haunted, empty city. Wow, weird about the town sliding down the mountain. They should have stuck them in place with Gorilla Glue.
Tom, oh man, you bring back memories of a windy mountain road that I was on. I forget exactly where, somewhere near Santa Cruz I believe. He was driving, and my heart was in my throat the whole time.
Bu, I was very sad when my mom’s harvest gold washer and dryer finally gave out, and she replaced them with boring white ones. I think the old ones lasted 20+ years! The new ones need replacing every seven years or so. My friend (a plant expert), pointed out a plant he calls a holly-leafed cherry. Not a real cherry, but it does produce a cherry-like fruit. And the leaves are prickly, just like real holly.
JG, it sounds like Owl needs to switch to decaf. My mom used to love old bisque figures and table ornaments, she had some turkeys that always came out on Thanksgiving, and several sizes and varieties of Santas, including one standing on a ski (I guess) that looked more like a surfboard, that one was my favorite. Peter Max - I like some of his designs, but also feel like he was sort of a charlatan. Hey, he made a fortune, so good for him. A winery in the desert, hmmmm….
Steve DeGaetano, now that book needs to be turned into a movie, starring Tom Cruise!
Nanook, those days were fun, you could get your appliances in all sorts of colors. Baby blue, pink, but never orange for some reason. Everyone knows that orange is the best color.
zach, I’m glad you tuned in today to see all of the birthday wishes! Did the park do anything special for the 50th anniversary of “Pirates”? Maybe a free pinback button?
Sharing a birthday with DL's POTC is pretty cool! My favorite attraction ever. I tried so hard to find a photo of a cake that said, "Happy Birthday Mike and Zach," but had no luck and had to settle for that one. :o)
"What does that last photo have in common with DL's ROA?"
Answer: They both contain Potential Exploding Objects ("PEO").
The PEO in that last photo was our rental car (the Pinto), IIRC. (Older Jr. Gorillas will understand; younger Jr. Gorillas can Google it.)
This trip was back in 1978, and I did the driving so that my dad could easily hop out of the car with his camera to capture a picture and then hop back in. I miss those trips with my dad, as he was adventuresome - always willing to do and see everything. We ate lunch at a restaurant inside the old historical library, and bummed around the shops. Yes, that road around Jerome was a bit treacherous, but I was young and I guess nothing scared me then. I'd probably have someone else do the driving, now.
Not only are those Jerome houses sliding, they also can sink -- as old, abandoned mine shafts are below. Very creepy IMO.
From Sedona [where my aunt and uncle lived, and we stayed], at night you could see Jerome - about 20 miles away, as the crow flies, on the side of the mountain. It looked like a big diamond you could hold in your hand, all sparkly when the town's lights came on, and everything else around it was dark. At least that's how it looked back then. There may be more light pollution, now.
Major-
[Some] of the appliance colors offered [just] by General Electric in the 1950's and 60's in addition to Canary Yellow were: Petal Pink; Cadet Blue and Woodtone Brown. Obviously, other 'white goods' manufacturers offered similar color choices with their own 'catchy names'.
As for your 'orange', probably the closest color offering to that was Poppy or Poppy Red, seen here on a Frigidaire refrigerator and range - LOOK HERE. The color was offered along with all those other groovy 1970's colors, such as Avocado Green; Harvest Gold and Coppertone Brown.
Oh yes John Olson!!! He was already an avid model railroader when getting hired at WED. Eventually his wife Katie and daughter Heidi also worked at WDI. John was instrumental in the development of the rockwork and fabrication of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and it was his existing knowlege of the ( still a ghost town) Jerome that lead Disney prop scouts to in search of mining artifacts for use at Disneyland. John was also inn charge of creating the massive one inch to the foot big thunder model
That was built down at Disneyland backstage. Cast members were invited to come by and see it. The model was cut up into 12” blocks then the blocks were grided out and enlarged and the pieces drawn out in chalk on the asphalt of a backstage parking lot - then rebar would be bent to shape to match the enlarged model contours for use in the mountain’s actual construction. Very time consuming but pretty accurate in maintaining the shape of the big thunder model rockwork. John Olson became a WED rockwork expert.
I’ve loved ghost towns for as long as I can remember… and over time have amassed about 50 books on ghost towns and mining towns and it’s alarming at how many of the towns are now completely gone due to nature or development. Lots became restored and don’t look like ghost towns anymore … and many like Jerome became expensive artists colonies or spa towns serving high end housing developments . But the days of finding relics and antiques in an old abandoned town are pretty much gone with the wind - and the ones that do … are usually protected by state and federal laws and even the removal of a pebble can send you to jail.
Yep, Bu, "Harvest Gold"....definitely warm, happy memories....the color of the appliances in my first little house. It was a handy-man special with solid 70s decor....carpet squares in the kitchen (there's a whole 'nother story about that); a wall of paneling that looked like fake bricks (also in the kitchen); shag carpeting throughout, and lots of dark paneling.
Nanook, at first I thought that turquoise thing on top of the washing machine was a separate clock. Thanks for the info.
The new ones need replacing every seven years or so."
Major, you are sooo right. We just replaced our washer and dryer (we got tired of fighting with them), and they were less than 7 years old. And you can't find them in a cream/beige color, which would look best where I have them. I settled for boring white.
I'm glad Mike and Zach have birthdays, today. Fun party. I'll take a piece of the chocolate cake, please.
Thanks, Major.
Happy Birthday Mike!! You are a font of knowledge on all things Disney. Now see if you can blow out all the candles in one try! KS
Extra photo: Wow, that vanilla ice cream sitting on the kitchen counter hasn't melted in 70 years or so! They don't make it like they used to. Back then it had staying power! Does that say "Kroger" on the box? Now I'm miffed; I wanted to see the jaw-distending thing! This must have taken place in the Spring, with those daffodils (I see that JG already mentioned this... oh well, what's done is done). I wonder what that is in the bowl behind the ice cream? It looks kinda... icky... like ground up birds with their feet sticking up in the air. Gotta love the curtains/drapes (again... JG).
Mike, Good grief! The history of Jerome sounds like it would be part of a Monty Python movie! Or a Rocky and Bullwinkle story arc.
Major, Yep! Wrote that little ditty myself! (maybe I should copyright it?). At least I haven't been reported to the ACLU or the AFL-CIO... or have I?
Sue, Wow, I was sorta correct when I guessed AEDs! I thought I was just being a smartass!
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